Dn. A. Gregory Roeber Ordained to Priesthood

The former Deacon A. Gregory Roeber of St. George Orthodox Church in Altoona was elevated to the priesthood as Father Anthony in services on Saturday, February 9, 2013.

The Right Reverend Thomas Joseph, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Charleston, Oakland, and the Mid-Atlantic in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese was the ordaining hierarch. The ordination occurred during the bishop’s annual visit to the Altoona parish. He was assisted by priests and deacons from his diocese, the Diocese of New York and Washington, D.C., the Diocese of Western Pennsylvania, Orthodox Church in America, and the Carpatho-Russian Diocese of North America. The Very Rev. Anthony G. Yazge, Interim pastor of St. George, and the Very Rev. Donald E. Shadid, pastor of St. Mary Church, Johnstown were the sponsors for the new priest. Priests and deacons who concelebrated included The Very Rev. Nicholas Alford, Washington, D.C., The. Rev Joseph Gereige, visiting from Lebanon, The Very Rev. Nicholas Ferencz of Scranton, Pa.,The Rev.Deacon Glenn McIntyre, Brownsville, The Rev. Deacon David Jacobs, Antiochian Village, and The Rev. Deacon Alexander Cadman, State College. These clergy were assisted by Subdeacon Todd Mokhiber, Antiochian Village, Bolivar; and St. George members Subdeacon Joshua Kollat, Reader James Johns, and Acolyte Ethan Kollat.

Bishop Thomas Joseph vesting Rev Anthony G Roeber during ordination at Divine Liturgy Saturday Feb 11, 2013The ordination occurred within the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy followed by a luncheon in the church hall for over 100 parishioners and guests. A choir of 15 voices under the direction of Nadeen Nerenberg sang ancient Byzantine chants and 19th and 20th century choral arrangements by leading Antiochian and Russian Orthodox composers. The parish honored Bishop Thomas at a luncheon on Sunday following the Liturgy at which he presided while Father Joseph Gereige and Father Anthony served as the concelebrants. The new priest was born and raised in Paonia, Colorado where he attended and completed his elementary education. He did secondary and collegiate work at the Pontifical College Josephinum and took his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Denver. He took a second Master’s and Ph.D. at Brown University and completed a Master of Arts in Orthodox Theology from the Antiochian House of Studies and the Balamand University. He is Professor of Early Modern History and Religious Studies at Penn State University, University Park, PA. He will continue in this capacity while also serving as a supply priest for the Western Pennsylvania deanery of his diocese. He served both at the Port Matilda Mission Station and St. George as a deacon for eight years prior to his ordination to the priesthood.

The newly-ordained Rev. Anthony G. Roeber offering Communion at Divine LiturgyFr. Anthony is married to Patricia Stutzman-Roeber. The couple celebrates their 40th wedding anniversary this year and have three children, Maria, an Orthodox medical missionary in Tanzania, Africa, Sister Margarete, a nun at Holy Assumption Monastery in Calistoga, California, and Christian, a manager of a catering service and nursing student currently living in Los Angeles, California.